What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

MurakamiwasborninJapanduringthepost–WorldWarIIbabyboom.AlthoughborninKyoto,hespenthisyouthinShukugawa(Nishinomiya),AshiyaandKobe.HisfatherwasthesonofaBuddhistpriest,andhismotherthedaughterofanOsakamerchant.BothtaughtJapaneseliterature.Sincechildhood,MurakamihasbeenheavilyinfluencedbyWesternculture,particularlyWesternmusicandliterature.HegrewupreadingarangeofworksbyAmericanwriters,suchasKurtVonnegutandRichardBrautigan,andheisoftendistinguishedfromotherJapanesewritersbyhisWesterninfluences.MurakamistudieddramaatWasedaUniversityinTokyo,wherehemethiswife,Yoko.Hisfirstjobwasatarecordstore,whichiswhereoneofhismaincharacters,ToruWatanabeinNorwegianWood,works.Shortlybeforefinishinghisstudies,Murakamiopenedthecoffeehouse(jazzbar,intheevening)"PeterCat"inKokubunji,Tokyowithhiswife.Theyranthebarfrom1974until1981.Manyofhisnovelshavethemesandtitlesthatinvokeclassicalmusic,suchasthethreebooksmakingupTheWind-UpBirdChronicle:TheThievingMagpie(afterRossini'soperaoverture),BirdasProphet(afterapianopiecebyRobertSchumannusuallyknowninEnglishasTheProphetBird),andTheBird-Catcher(acharacterinMozart'soperaTheMagicFlute).Someofhisnovelstaketheirtitlesfromsongs:Dance,Dance,Dance(afterTheDells'song,althoughitiswidelythoughtitwastitledaftertheBeachBoystune),NorwegianWood(afterTheBeatles'song)andSouthoftheBorder,WestoftheSun(thefirstpartbeingthetitleofasongbyNatKingCole).Murakamiisakeenmarathonrunnerandtriathlete,althoughhedidnotstartrunninguntilhewas33yearsold.OnJune23,1996,hecompletedhisfirstultramarathon,a100-kilometerracearoundLakeSaromainHokkaido,Japan.Hediscusseshisrelationshipwithrunninginhis2008workWhatITalkAboutWhenITalkAboutRunning.